


the king's right hand man

by employedoutlaw



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, MMM LOVE ME THAT GOOD LESSER DAD SHIT, i mean he's still a dork but he's at least better than the piece of shit king, no beta we die like men, rouxls is the dad lancer DESERVES, wow i really have no idea how tags work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 19:57:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17066105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/employedoutlaw/pseuds/employedoutlaw
Summary: After their ( quite unorthodox, he had to admit ) defeat of K. Round, the Lightners had continued forward, and Rouxls was all-too-happy to stay out of the way until everything calmed down.





	the king's right hand man

**Author's Note:**

> or, in which lesser dad is better dad, and lancer will be a much better king than his father

Rouxls Kaard had a plan. 

It was a pretty brilliant plan, if he did say so himself. Only two steps, as well. Step one: make the Lightners think he was absolutely no threat at all, and had been on their side from the beginning. Step two: stay the hell out of their way until everything died down. 

How exactly everything would end up “dying down” was a bit of a mystery, but it was a win-win situation in his mind; if the King defeated them, he could return right back to the spade’s side. Honestly, it wasn’t a position he  _ liked  _ too well, but if it meant staying out of a cage and keeping his head firmly on his shoulders, he would take it and  _ stick with it,  _ thank you very much. And if the heroes somehow beat the King, they would be under the impression that he had been a friend to them all along! Truly, it was genius!

Staying the hell out of the way involved camping out in his shop until something happened, which he didn’t have a problem with. He liked his shop—it was a comfortable little place, with plenty of food, and staying there allowed him to brush up on puzzle-making out of sight. It wouldn’t do for someone to see the Duke of Puzzles skimming through a ‘101 Puzzles for Beginners and Idiot Babies, Volume II’, now would it? 

Duke of Puzzles...it was a wonder he’d managed this long. Rouxls supposed he was lucky that the king was so concerned with other matters, otherwise he’d no doubt realize that his Duke could hardly do much at all when it came to diversions and doorkeys. If Rouxls truly had no shame, he’d simply recycle the leftovers from previous puzzle masters ( at least, those that were still here and not in pieces ), but he liked to believe he had at least  _ some  _ shred of dignity left. 

Which is why he absolutely did not yelp in fear when the door to his shop slammed open. Not at all. 

The flash of blue made his chest constrict—oh,  _ god,  _ it was the King, he’d defeated the Lightners and had come here to ask Rouxls  _ how  _ they’d managed to get so far in the first place, and he’d surely join the dungeon or  _ worse _ —but the weight that crashed into him was much too small to be the elder spade. Rouxls looked down. Lancer was clinging to the front of his coat and...shaking slightly? What had happened? 

Carefully, Rouxls put a hand on top of the little jack’s head. “Mine Prince? What ailes thou?” 

Lancer’s breath was shaky and uneven, like he’d sprinted all the way here. He turned his gaze up to the Duke, and Rouxls was surprised to see what appeared to be small tears in the corner of the prince’s eyes, catching the light under his hood. “R-Rouxls! Oh, man, it’s really bad—the Lightners are fighting my dad, and...” 

The use of his name proper ( rather than “Lesser Dad” ) tipped him off—something was very wrong here. Rouxls didn’t remove his hand, but maneuvered Lancer so the prince was sitting on the Duke’s lap, allowing them to see each other better. “Hey, hey...calm theeself, my liege, ‘tis alrighte. Tell me what’s gone on.” 

Lancer sniffed, wiping his nose with the tail end of his glove. Were the situation not so serious, Rouxls probably would have chided him for that—it wasn’t very princely to run around with dried snot on one’s clothes. “I...I went to my dad, and I was trying to tell him he didn’t have to fight the Lightners...Susie said that they’d be able to talk things out, and since they’re heroes and stuff, I thought that might work!” 

Rouxls had no idea which one “Susie” was, but nodded along nonetheless. Oh, dear...he could already guess that the plan hadn’t exactly come to fruition. Already, tendrils of anxiety were beginning to unfurl in his gut. He’d figured that a fight between the heroes and the King was inevitable, but if Lancer had somehow gotten mixed up in it...there was a reason the King had practically dropped his son into Rouxls’ lap. While the Duke would never say this to the King’s face, the royal spade wasn’t exactly perfect father material. 

The jack continued. “So, I tried telling him that they were really friendly, and there wasn’t any reason to fight, but he got...mad...he grabbed me and said he’d toss me off the roof unless they kneeled.”

Rouxls’ blood ran cold. “He did what.”

Lancer tilted his head up to better look at Rouxls, falling into silence. It was only then that Rouxls noticed angry red marks around the prince’s neck. The worst seemed like they were already purpling. 

It was a well-known fact that the King had a temper. Everyone in the kingdom knew and feared his wrath—it was his terrible anger, coupled with the appearance of the mysterious Knight, that had led him to overthrow the other kings and toss practically everyone who didn’t swear fealty into the dungeon. 

It was a lesser-known fact that he raised his hand to his son in his fits of fury. Most soldiers of Card Castle probably assumed that the bruises Lancer accumulated were from simple things, like bike accidents, or simply tripping while running through the fields or long, sullen castle halls. And some of them were. He was a rambunctious child, after all: always getting into trouble.

But Rouxls knew that the true source of some injuries did not come from such simple accidents. For months now, he’d silently treated the prince’s bruises and scrapes, tending to the young lord and wiping away his tears. Low, simmering anger at the King boiled in the pit of Rouxls’ stomach everytime Lancer quietly appeared in his shop with a new injury to take care of ( how could he treat his own son in such a way? While Rouxls had never been particularly fond of children, the King’s handling of his only child made Rouxls  _ seethe  _ ), but he’d never said anything. How could he? The King’s word was law, and to question it even slightly was asking to get locked behind bars. And if that happened, Lancer would truly have no one…

Rouxls paused. Thoughts swirled through his head. 

There was still hope that the Lightners would emerge victorious. They’d managed to defeat...that odd crowned piece a little while ago, and without even putting a scratch on it, to boot. Not to mention they had Dark World’s other prince on their side—Rouxls had heard about the lonely monarch, even before ever coming across him. 

Prince Ralsei resided in the castle on the other side of Dark World horizon. No one had lived in the surrounding town for decades, but rumor spread with little problem among the lower-ranking members of Card Castle, particularly those who wandered far past the borders of the Field of Hopes and Dreams. Little trickles of information had been coming to Rouxls’ shop for a while, both before and after the Lightners had officially started their quest. The Prince was ( apparently ) a pacifistic soul, and only possessed healing and sleep magics, but he was a valuable ally by sheer virtue of being royal. 

Rouxls didn’t know much about the other two ( the human and the monster—one of them had to be Susie, by process of elimination ), but it was obvious they were the Lightners from the legend. They’d made it this far, but...the King was an entirely different beast. There was no way he would respond to  _ pacifism.  _ And if the Lightners didn’t properly strike him down, there would be no stopping him; they would continue until either party couldn’t go any further, and when that happened…

“...uxls? Rouxls!” 

The sound of Lancer’s voice snapped the Duke out of his thoughts—right. He turned his attention back on the jack. “Apologies, mine prince. I was justeth...well, ‘tis of no importance. What werest thee saying?”

Lancer appeared a bit worried, but began to speak again. “I was asking you what we should do—I don’t know if the Lightners are gonna be able to beat my dad. They don’t really like fighting all that much...Well, except for Susie, but she said that she’d try to talk to him since I didn’t want anyone to get hurt…”

So much for that. It was obvious Lancer had come to the same conclusion Rouxls had; any non-violent sentiment was probably thrown out the window as soon as the King had threatened his son. The Duke’s fingers curled into fists at his sides at the thought, and he glanced over at the axe that hadn’t been purchased, sitting in the corner of the room. The Lightner leader hadn’t seemed very interested in any weapons—the only things they’d bought were defensive charms and a lacy, doily-like scarf for Prince Ralsei, and while that could be used in a pinch, it mostly boosted healing abilities. The axe’s blade shined with the light of the open shop door on it. If Rouxls didn’t already have a pressing issue to deal with, he might just…

He shook his head slightly—it was no use getting off-track. Besides, what would he even be able to do? The King would probably snap him like a toothpick. No, it was better if he were to stay by Lancer’s side. The Duke wouldn’t be able to give him the answer to all his problems, but it was his responsibility to aid the young royal in any way he could. “...What do  _ you  _ think we should do, Lancer? What is the thing you want most to happen right now?” His “accent” was gone, and his voice was soft as he looked at the prince. 

A flash of surprise appeared on Lancer’s face, and he turned his gaze at his hands, the tip of his hood drooping. “I...I don’t want  _ this  _ to happen. I want my friends to be okay, and my dad...he has to stop. He’s been hurting people, and so long as he’s king, he’ll keep hurting them…”

Rouxls felt a smile curl the corners of his lips. There—that was a good first step. “Alright, then. And how do you think we could possibly put a stop to him? Is there anything you can think of that might help in accomplishing this?” 

Lancer thought for a moment, and it wasn’t too long before he gasped. “Oh! We could rally everyone! They all like the Lightners, since they were so nice to them...if we tell everybody that they’re fighting my dad, maybe we can all do something to stop him!” 

It sounded like a pretty good plan. Of course, there was always the chance that everyone’s fear of the monarch would prevent them from acting, but...if the Lightners  _ had _ sufficiently befriended everyone ( odd as that was to imagine ), that, coupled with the hate those in Card Castle had for the King, might just be enough. 

“So it shall be. Leadeth the way, my liege,” Rouxls said, removing Lancer from where he’d sat on his lap. “It might be a tad troublesome to gather all members of Card Castle, but I shall aidest thee.” 

It was hard to see Lancer’s eyes from under his hood, but Rouxls got the impression that they would be sparkling if he could catch a glimpse. The prince’s entire body practically vibrated from excitement, and he jumped up and down on the floor of Rouxls’ shop. “Yeah! Yeah, let’s go get everyone! I’ll go to the first floor, and you go to the second, and we can split the third—tell everyone to meet on this floor, in front of the entrance to the throne room!”

It would be a bit of a tight squeeze, but nothing they couldn’t do. Besides, they really didn’t need to gather  _ everyone— _ word  _ did  _ spread quickly around here, and so long as Lancer was able to convince some of the more influential soldiers, the rest would follow suit. The Duke nodded, pleased to see the prince in such a familiar attitude. It was almost unnatural, seeing him so quiet and timid. For the bombastic personality to return was a good sign. Now, all they had to do was gather everyone. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Soldiers and Staff of Card Castle, lend thine ears! Thou prince hast words for thee!” Rouxls could hear mutters and grumbles in the back of the group they’d assembled, but a sharp glare from him silenced that relatively quickly. It was a rather impressive collection; they hadn’t gotten the entire population, of course, but a sizable amount. Certainly enough to help them stage a coup. 

Oh,  _ lord,  _ that was really what they were doing, wasn’t it? They were seriously about to try and overthrow the King. Rouxls steeled his nerves and stepped aside, allowing Lancer to take center stage. All the soldiers looked as though they were bracing themselves—and they probably thought they were right to, given the previous orders they’d been given. But this would be like nothing else. 

Lancer cleared his throat. “Everyone! This is very important, so please listen up!” His voice was loud and clear, carrying across the entire hall, and Rouxls felt a swell of pride. It hadn’t been the boy’s  _ father  _ who’d taught him how to speak like that. The prince continued. “Right now, at this very moment, your King is in combat with the Lightners.”

Immediately, whispers and chatter broke out amongst the group. The Duke surveyed the hall, but it was difficult to read everyone’s expressions: none of them seemed to know what to think, or what was coming next. Lancer seemed a bit lost as well—he’d never been in front of such a large group before ( nor commanded one ), and hesitated a moment. He looked over at Rouxls, and he gave the prince an encouraging “go on” gesture. Despite what those of Card Castle might have previously ( or currently ) thought of him, Lancer was a prince.

And may very well soon be a king. 

Lancer still seemed a bit worried, but cleared his throat again. The murmurs quieted down, and everyone watched him apprehensively. “Right now, your King is in combat with the Lightners. And we are going to stop him.”

Wild murmurings, much louder than those previous. A bolt of worry shot through Rouxls’ body, and his gaze flicked to Lancer, but the prince had his mouth set into a determined line. “We are going to stop him, because the people of Card Castle have suffered too long under his rule!” 

It was easy to see the surprise on everyone’s faces, but their chatter slowly started to sound more and more excited. Lancer kept going, clearly encouraged by the response. “We are going to stop him, because we know the Lightners to be friends!”

The volume of the crowd got a bit louder, and Rouxls could see a few soldiers nodding to themselves and to each other. Absently, he wondered exactly how the Lightners had managed to befriend so many of the castle staff and guard—while practically everyone’s hatred for the King may have aided in some way, he’d have thought for sure that some would remain faithful for whatever reason. Money, fear, a true loyalty to the throne ( rare and ridiculous as that sounded )...however, this seemed to not be the case, as their chattering was slowly but surely getting louder. 

Rouxls glanced over at Lancer. The prince was starting to grin. “We are going to stop him, because you deserve a king who accepts you, no matter what! No more throwing people in cages! No more forcing people to fight! We are going to stop the King, and help our friends the Lightners, and make the Dark World a better place for everyone to live!”

The crowd was full-on cheering now. With every word, and every promise, they got louder and louder, and Lancer was beaming at his subjects. “We are going to band together and overthrow the King! Who’s with me?”

A deafening roar of affirmation came from every soldier in the hall. Lancer’s name was being chanted triumphantly. Rouxls scooped Lancer up and placed him on his shoulders, so he could better see everyone in the room. From his place atop the Duke, Lancer raised a fist. At least, that’s what Rouxls thought he did, anyhow—it was a bit hard to see him past the Duke’s peripheral vision, at the moment. “Gather everyone you can! Tell them what I’ve told you, and meet me here so that we can take our kingdom back!” 

The cheering continued as about half the soldiers left to go get other recruits. The ones left chattered with each other eagerly, and Rouxls set Lancer back down onto the ground, smiling warmly at the young prince. “Well done, Lancer. Thatst was very well done, indeed.”

Lancer returned the grin as he looked up at Rouxls, but a flash of something flickered across his face, and he regarded the crowd of subjects. “...I hope we’re able to get everyone in time. I dunno how long my friends are gonna last against my dad…”

Rouxls bit his lip. in truth, he had no idea just how long the fight between the King and the Lightners would last, especially if the Lightners did indeed attempt pacifism. The chances of the King actually surrendering were slim to none, so it all depended on the heroes being able to outlast him. It was true that it had taken a bit of time to get a sizable enough crowd, but with everyone’s spirits up, it shouldn’t take long at all for them to get everyone properly gathered so they could truly overpower the King. The Duke kneeled so he was at eye-level with Lancer. “Don’t fret, my prince. You hath said it yourself, thine friends art very strong, right?”

Lancer nodded, but it was clear his unease hadn’t disappeared. Rouxls put a hand on his shoulder gently. “Thou has’t full faith in them. That is what’s most important. Besides, those worms art from the Legend, are they not? It ‘tis their destiny. And thee will prove very important in helping both them and all of Dark World.”

The prince gazed up at him for a moment before throwing his arms over the Duke’s shoulders in a hug. Rouxls startled, but only momentarily as he returned the embrace. Lancer’s voice was soft. “Thanks, Lesser Dad.”

The nickname that had previously filled the Duke with annoyance was a welcome return to form. He patted the prince’s back gently. “Of course, Lancer. Now, we have a sizable army, at the moment. What dost thou say to leading them?”

**Author's Note:**

> WHEW. alright. well, here we are. first ever proper ao3 publishing—let's hope this goes well. 
> 
> writing rouxls' specific brand of ye olde butcherede englishe ( emphasis on the 'butcherede' ) was harder than i thought it'd be; hopefully it's somewhat believable. anyway, i'm a fan of the headcanon where it's just an act he puts on, and he can drop it whenever he wants, he just uses it to sound smarter. what a dumbass. 
> 
> but despite the lackluster ending ( and also title ), i'm pretty pleased with this, and i hope you guys are too ! i'm a sucker for found family and jerks with hearts of gold and just the idea of rouxls basically adopting lancer and being a better dad than the king could ever hope to be—give me ALL THE LESSER DAD CONTENT, PLEASE. 
> 
> i hope lancer wasn't too ooc in his 'rallying the troops' moment, but for all his silliness, it's not like the kid can't get serious sometimes, and he /is/ a prince—before the knight showed up and everything went to shit, i imagine he had at least some sort of royal education regarding how to talk to subjects and what-have-you. 
> 
> LONG NOTES OVER NOW: i hope you all enjoyed ! ^^


End file.
